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Thursday, April 15, 2010

Duns N Roses

Remember this boy? What a looker! He sure was a snorty bugger. Duns was part of the group I hauled up from Molalla (I love that name! Let's say it again, 3 times fast, all together now...Molallamolallamolalla...) Duns was used as part of my gentling demo at the fair in '08. Totally untouched before going, he gave fair goers a real show. They say red horses, duns in particular, are hot, and this boy had flames. He was the flightiest of the three horses I'd brought home, but by the end of the week he had a huge following of fans and a sweet young family adopted him.

I'm always amazed by the turn around of these horses. I know I've said it before, but it always bears repeating. Trust is key. Gain it, and they're yours. Duns was no exception. He went from being a hot headed fool one day to a girl's best friend the next. Some folks mistakenly believe a dog is man's best friend. Those people have never had a mustang. Like most, Duns became a pocket pony, begging for love and attention over the course of the next year and a half.

Sadly, Duns' family became victims of the current economy and felt inclined to give him up. Feed the kids, or feed the horse...well, of course the kids get fed! It's the only rational choice. Not really having the space here, Duns became part of the Mustang U herd and is living with club secretary, Deb, down south of me a bit. Wish he were closer because he's ready to start under saddle...well, almost. He needs to gain a few pounds and get some muscle tone. Right now he's living happily with Deb's small herd, and he's quite content.

I did go down and mess with him a bit a couple weeks ago. As you can see, he'd benefit from some muscling along his topline, and he could gain a few pounds, but he's not all that bad. I think he's got the same holstein hips that Sandy has...always makes them look thin when you see cow hips pointing out. Duns is going to be a pretty decent sized boy. He's four this year, roughly 14.3/15 hands, and he's going to bulk out tremendously. I wish he'd shed out, he looks kinda scruffy, but a you can see from his summer shots above, he's a very rich coloring, and I just love the blond highlights in his mane!

Well, enough talk. Darling got some video of him, first time with anything tightened up around his belly, first time with a bit, first time lunging...um, Darling? I put a saddle on the horse that day. Where were you and the camera? For the rest of you, the saddle went up without any protest. He'd been just jumpy enough over the rope that I didn't cinch it up; I was on a time limit and didn't want to start what couldn't be finished, so we called it quits with simply walking around while the saddle was parked on his back. Again...that somehow managed to be overlooked by my videographer.